Hey, guys! It’s Keiran Cooper coming at ‘cha with a recap of HRYZ (HRadecké YoYo Závody) 2017! This competition took place on December 2nd in the Králové region of the Czech Republic, and joins SLYZ as one of the many regional competitions throughout the Czech Republic. HRYZ was the first Czech competition to take place after YYMCR (Czech Nationals) in November.

The winner of 1A Pokro (short for pokročilý, meaning advanced) was Matous Tomes. Matous is a 2014 Worlds finalist, 3-time Worlds semifinalist, and currently ranked 3rd in the Czech Republic. As one of the most competitively relevant players in the country, it’s no surprise Matous managed to make up for a restart (major deduction, -1) and come out on top. His freestyle’s build is very similar to that of his recent YYMCR freestyle with a couple of changes to the overall format and music.

Coming in second place is the 2016 and 2017 Czech national champion, Michael Malík. Michael’s overall build from this competition carries a lot of stark differences in pacing and execution – compared to his YYMCR or semifinal from Worlds, his speed and trick density have drastically increased. I’d argue a potential catalyst for his change in speed could be attributed to the use of a new YoYo, as he has switched from the Edge to the new ND Ultra. With this change in speed and overall density, I can see Michael potentially pushing his way into top 3 at EYYC next year.

Third place went to one of the most prolific online players, Tony Šec. Throughout the European competition season, Tony has competed in a handful of 2-minute formatted competitions, and is arguably one of 2017’s most competitively active players overall. Compared to his EYYC final from earlier this year, Tony’s execution and performance have both improved tenfold. Going into EYYC 2018, I’m excited to see more risky and technical content from Tony.

Outside of top 3 in 1A Pokro, I was really impressed with Jonáš Ožana’s freestyle. A relatively new face to the competition scene, Jonáš ended up taking 11th overall with a really cool freestyle. Amidst the looming competitive meta, Jonáš managed to showcase a set of a-typical tricks met with tremendously unique flow. Next generation for sure.

The winner of the “X” division was the current Czech champion, František Procházka. Using a similar trick build to his YYMCR freestyle, František delivered a sick freestyle to some Childish Gambino. I’m excited to see what he has to bring to the table for EYYC next year – new European champion in the making?

Those were my favorites from HRYZ! I’ve been following the European scene for quite some time – it’s great to see such growth! Shout out to SLUSNY for covering the competition in its entirety, check out the rest of the freestyles here.